The complexities of desire/power. Can surrender and empowerment and victimization and self-assertion and power all be the same thing? Or could someone be mistaken? Watch the video: HERE. Comments?
I do think that these actions are all utilizing and channeling perceptions of one's own power. In surrender one realizes they have a lot/little power and make a conscious decision to step down or surrender. Surrender is a voluntary action where as defeat is not. Empowerment is a decision process of claiming and changing from a previous lack of power. Assertion is in a similar vein. Lastly, victimization is interesting because I feel it is an interpretation of power. A person can claim they have none or be told by others they are powerless. For this Halsey song I do think surrender and self- assertion are complex because in being told she is "holy" which is a word "the three piece" [likely a man or authority figure] expects her to perpetuate. By acting that way she betrays her own feelings and has to surrender to him at the cost of her own assertion. As a result she feels as if she is being held down. While I don't normally enjoy Halsey, this song definitely has relevance in our society.
So we'll re-read, with great care, 110-127. I learned from our discussion today, and I am grateful to you all for that. There is no simple solution to these things. (As in the example: If I insist on "Dr. Campolo," I help prop up several forms of harmful power, and I benefit from them. If I insist on "Chris," I help prop up several forms of harmful power, and I benefit from them.) If in some ways our "domains" are so intertwined that any move in mine shapes the possible moves in yours, and vice versa, then we may constantly be fighting for what we each think of as the domain-respect due us. (I think that that was Anna's point.) And if that's possible, then it may be that there is a constant anger, often submerged, but always there, and justified. I got nothing for that. I very strongly feel the pull of the idea that I can ultimately only reduce the pain I cause by going away. Even such a (wholesome) separatism is an...
First, a few more words about "false consciousness." It is sometimes used interchangeably with "brainwashed," but that's not a perfect synonym. Brainwashing usually means something like: heavily influenced in one's thoughts, in a way that does not come from, or respond to, critical reflection, alternative views, stated reasons, etc. False consciousness is, instead, a diagnosis which asserts that the affected persons (or class of people) have views--even of themselves and their own ideas and desires and hopes, etc., that are not "true" to their authentic selves. They're not impervious to reason. Their reasons are just not the ones that their authentic selves would have. What's an "authentic self"? Who gets to say who has "false" consciousness? How would someone go from false to "true" consciousness? All very difficult--the subject of many thousands of pages. And morally tricky--asserting that so...
So many thoughts. I keep thinking about "exclusions," and the historical movement of some of them from "obviously necessary" to "obviously unjust." I am also thinking about false consciousness, which I did not explain well. (But I think that there are accessible analogues.) We will talk more about these things. I'm thinking about a syllabus. Would you believe that it has been done, all this time? It has. I'm just insecure about it. For Monday, 201-244 in Feminism in Our Time. Good, close reading, so we could have a discussion as good as Thursday's. You will notice that one of the readings is by the very famous write Kate Millet. She just died this week. Here's a link about her that David sent me: HERE . And here's a link I caught, as I soaked in the interwebs: HERE . (Where are those links you were going to send me, about the variety of forms of relationships???)
I do think that these actions are all utilizing and channeling perceptions of one's own power. In surrender one realizes they have a lot/little power and make a conscious decision to step down or surrender. Surrender is a voluntary action where as defeat is not. Empowerment is a decision process of claiming and changing from a previous lack of power. Assertion is in a similar vein. Lastly, victimization is interesting because I feel it is an interpretation of power. A person can claim they have none or be told by others they are powerless. For this Halsey song I do think surrender and self- assertion are complex because in being told she is "holy" which is a word "the three piece" [likely a man or authority figure] expects her to perpetuate. By acting that way she betrays her own feelings and has to surrender to him at the cost of her own assertion. As a result she feels as if she is being held down. While I don't normally enjoy Halsey, this song definitely has relevance in our society.
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